[Structural changes in the mitotic apparatus of metaphase cells exposed to 2-mercaptoethanol in a porcine embryonic kidney cell culture. A light microscopy study].

The sequence of reconstruction of the metaphase mitotic apparatus of the KEPV cells under the action of 2-mercaptoethanol (0.001 M) and after moving off the agent has been studied. In the presence of 2-mercaptoethanol, a destruction of the metaphase plate and that of the mitotic spindle proceed independently. The destruction of the mitotic spindle does not involve an immediate disorganization of the metaphase plate, and vice versa. In the course of resumption of the normal division after moving off the agent, the restoration of the mitotic apparatus structure proceeds within a definite temporal sequence: at first, the mitotic spindle reestablishes, and after that the metaphase plate forms. Distinctions between the 2-mercaptoethanol action and the action of other antimitotic agents are discussed.